No Pulse
by E.V.A.Graebel
Summary: Btwn Blade II and Trinity. A human hunter falls in with Blade and they both get more than they bargained for when he is forced to turn her. UPDATED and FINISHED.
1. Chapter 1

**No Pulse**

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Disclaimer: The main characters of this work are not my creation. This is my interpretation of the time between Blade II and Trinity and will include some of Trinity.

I greatly appreciate reviews and/or any advice.

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EXT.NEW YORK ALLEYWAY - NIGHT

The alleyway in a rough part of New York is dark and sparsely lighted, aren't all alleyways the same way. This one is dank and wet and empty except for the figure staggering down between the steam and haze.

It's a young woman who appears to be drunk. She trips, almost falls, and catches herself with a giggle. Completely self-absorbed she doesn't appear to see the group of men who've just come out of a doorway.

They turn and see her; long brown hair, skintight black pants, and a low cut top that is just about falling off of her.

MAN  
Need some help, darling?

She looks up blearily.

MEG  
(Slurred.)  
I'm okay.  
(She stumbles again and he catches her.)  
A little help then. I think that lash drink did me in.

MAN  
I'll help her.

The others give him wolfish grins and disappear down the alley so that the two are quickly alone again. Meg is leaning into her savior, she reeks of alcohol and appears to be heavily inebriated. The Man turns toward her and gives her his own sharp-toothed grin, not quite a man then, a Vampire.

MEG  
Okay, lesh go. To…um…4th, I think thash where I parked.

VAMPIRE  
Is that so?

Meg slips and drags him down suddenly, giggling the whole way.

At the other end of the alleyway a figure appears. Steam obscures him, we can't see anything besides the long coat and a startling glimmer of buckles that flickers through the darkness. He sees Meg and the vampire and begins to run.

Meg giggles again as she pulls on the vampires arms. And then, silver glimmers between her fingers as she stakes the unsuspecting vampire. He sparks to ash, a shocked look as he backpedals away and then is gone.

BLADE  
What the hell?

Meg gets to her feet and brushes the remaining sparks off of her clothing. She looks at Blade in confusion for a second and then she realizes who he is.

MEG  
You're him. Blade.

BLADE  
And who the hell are you?

She shrugs and straightens her clothes. The silver stake has vanished and it's not evident where it went to.

MEG  
Margaret Carpenter. Most call me Meg. Walk with me?

They face off for a minute. Neither of them quite sure what the other is. Blade's hands are quite close to his weapons. Meg is more relaxed, she has information on her side.

BLADE  
You're hunting them alone. That's dangerous.

MEG  
But effective. They don't expect any fight from me. Drunk. Female.  
Alone.

BLADE  
Human.

MEGWe all have our little failings.  
(Smiles.)  
I thought you were in Europe. Word was that you found Whistler.  
Brought him back.

He gives her the stoic Blade silence until she goes on.

MEG (cont.)  
There is a grapevine, you know. You're not the only one who hunts them.

BLADE  
You're going to get yourself killed.

MEG  
Isn't that where we're all headed?  
(She looks down a side street and shrugs lightly.)  
Maybe I'll see you around then.

BLADE  
How would I find you?

MEG  
You wouldn't. I move around a lot. Keeps anyone from getting suspicious.  
Keeps the fangs off my neck.

The two of them face off. Although they might technically be colleagues, vampire hunters aren't known for their social graces or ability to merge with each other, almost all are loners. But he hasn't met many humans who've chosen this path, not yet anyway, and her method of hunting is unique to say the least.

BLADE  
How did you end up doing this? Killing vampires.

MEG  
Does there have to be a reason?

BLADE  
It's not a hobby that you just pick up.

She shrugs and sends his own silence right back at him. Meg isn't intimidated by him and that is something that he rarely experiences. His interest is more than a little curiosity, but she's done with the share time.

MEG  
One man's hobby…

She walks away from him down another alleyway. Blade shrugs and turns. This part of New York is full of vampire clubs and the inevitable blood bath that follows them. There's plenty of killing yet to be done.

But when she's walked to the point where she can no longer see him, she stops and pauses. She's just met the man with the most vampire kills anywhere and he's going hunting. When she returns to his location he is gone, but she has a good idea of where he's going.

EXT. NEW YORK VAMPIRE BAR - NIGHT

It is marked with almost invisible sigils. They are set among pictures that others might not notice. If one looks closer, they might see Whistler set into a sniper position on the roof and hear the screams and fighting from inside. Blade working his magic.

Meg is headed toward the bar. She spots Whistler and eyes his position. She also hears the rush of oncoming police cars and realizes that whatever Blade has done has drawn familiars in positions of great influence and power.

MEG  
Shit!

She reaches back and tightens the strings of her top, pulling it against her. Not tight, the outlines of stakes are faintly visible against her ribs. These she leaves in place as she pulls a short silver weapon from a boot holster and starts across the street.

She darts inside just as a pair of hysterical vampires try to bolt for the exit.

MEG  
No exit, ladies!

Her wrist flicks and the asp telescopes down and locks into position. She strikes the first vampire and then drives the end into her waist. Ash. The second tries to punch her, Meg spins into the blow, elbows the vamp, and slices the modified asp across her windpipe. The head severs completely from the body before it lights up.

The interior of the club is chaos. Vampires running for exits, some being chased down by silver bullets, others trampling each other in their hurry.

Meg picks off those that come close enough to her. She has a liquid fighting style, very similar to Aikido, and without much extra movement. She downs a big Hispanic vampire with a shot through one eye and finally sees Blade whirling and spinning amidst a group of attackers.

MEG  
Blade! It's time to go!

He ignores her. A snap kick to one leg takes the vamp down for a stake through the head. Another gets too close to his sword and ashes around it. The third gets the already used stake in his chest before he can back away and Meg obligingly impales the fourth on her asp.

Now there is a new confrontation in the bar.

BLADE  
What are _you_ doing here?

MEG  
They've called in the cavalry.  
(He doesn't follow her logic at first.)  
Familiars.

BLADE  
I can handle familiars.

MEG  
Not an entire police quadrant of them. Every man.

The seriousness of her voice wins him over. They glance around. The bar is mostly cleared. A few vamps are hiding in flimsy hiding places. Blade sneers at them.

BLADE  
Your lucky day.

They jog for the exit.

They're almost there when five vampires lunge out of the darkness. Blade punches the closest one but the second knocks his hand out of line as he pulls the trigger to the stake gun. Then he's in the thick of it again. Fighting for survival against half-trained vampires who fancy themselves fighters. It doesn't really take him that long.

He starts forward again when he realizes that Meg isn't at his side.

Blade sees her, laying against one wall, blood pouring out of her fingers from where she's taken the misfired stake out of her chest and tried to staunch the wound.

MEG  
Guess I should have listened to you.  
(She coughs painfully.)  
Fuck this hurts!

The police sirens are closer now.

The earpiece in Blade's ear comes to life.

WHISTLER (O.S. filter)  
Time to leave this shit-hole, Blade. We've got problems coming in.

BLADE  
Bring the van around.

WHISTLER (O.S. filter)  
What's going on?

BLADE  
Just do as I say!

He leans down toward Meg, his nostrils flaring as he scents the blood on her. She tries to push him away as he gathers her up.

MEG  
Oh, just leave me. I can see the end of the line.

BLADE  
Be quiet.

He carries her from the bar and manages to shoot a few extra vamps on the way. Meg is bleeding heavily unable to put any pressure against the wound. Her head lolls against the black leather of his coat.

Whistler pulls up in the van. His eyes open wider when he sees Meg.

WHISTLER  
I thought we weren't bringing home any more strays.

BLADE  
Just drive.

They pull away as Blade rips the thin strap holding her garment on the left side. The stake has entered her shoulder and left a deep and bloody wound.

Meg shivers as shock sets in and her skin grows pale and clammy. She tries to smile at him as the lights of the passing streets flicker across the roof of the van.

MEG  
This always was a stupid hobby.

BLADE  
We have to stop the bleeding.

She grabs his hand, surprisingly strong.

MEG  
Don't waste your time. I know fatal when I see it.

WHISTLER  
What the hell is going on?

Blade watches as the blood thickens and then stops. Her head rolls back against him and her dark eyes go silent and glossy with unshed tears. He reaches down and rests his hand against the tender flesh of her neck.

WHISTLER (cont.)  
Is she okay?

BLADE  
No pulse.

Then when terrible slowness, he leans down and bites her.


	2. Chapter 2

INT.THE LAIR - DAWN

This room is a prison. Steel bars guarding the doors, a triangle of sunlight as a secondary measure, and the impassive figure of Blade standing just inside the shadows Whistler is next to him with a shotgun.

Against a shadow-darkened corner is a huddled figure. Blood is still splattered over her arms and neck but the deep cavity of her wound is gone, healed. She twitches and moans as something fights inside of her.

WHISTLER  
It's gone on too long. You know what needs to be done.

BLADE  
Give her another dose.

WHISTLER  
Blade, I'm sorry, but you should just have let her die.

BLADE  
Another dose, old man. A chance, like the one I gave you.

Whistler sighs and pulls a syringe out of his pocket. Blade holds Meg down, her fangs snapping at both of them, her eyes sightless with the thirst. They plunge it into the fat vein at her neck and she screams before collapsing.

The two men watch for a few moments, the sunlight tracing a path behind them. The figure on the floor is terribly still but if one looks closely, her skin is fighting between the terrible pallor of death - and life.

WHISTLER  
If this one doesn't work?

BLADE  
Call Karen.

WHISTLER  
Who _is_ she? Another bystander? Why do you care?

BLADE  
Just another fool trying to hold back the night. Call her.

His mentor stares at him for a long moment, trying to determine what is going on behind that inscrutable front and then leaves.

Blade crouches next to the woman, her features contorted as the vampire strain within her fights with a cure that has always worked before. There might be some compassion in his eyes, or something entirely different.

INT.THE LAIR - EVENING

Blade is on a video connection with Karen, the hematologist from the first Blade, the one who discovered the cure. She is still pretty and the tiny scars at her neck are the only reminder of her own trip there and back again. She is wearing a white lab coat and appears to be at work in some kind of lab or hospital.

KAREN  
We haven't had any other reports of problems. Are you  
sure she wasn't bitten by a revenant or something we haven't  
encountered before?

He doesn't answer.

KAREN (cont.)  
You have to be truthful with me. I can't fix what I don't understand.

Something crosses his eyes. Something that frightens him. The edge he walks upon is so finely tuned, between madness and safety. Revealing to another that he toed the line is difficult for a man like Blade to do.

BLADE  
I bit her.

Shock and then understanding.

KAREN  
The cure isn't based off of your DNA, which is unique.  
It's not surprising that efficacy would fall.

She reaches for a lab manual, already her mind is working on the implications of what he's saying.

KAREN (cont.)  
I think I can alter the formula to account for the strain difference.  
The same procedure should work. And as long as she doesn't  
go into shock from multiple vaccinations.

BLADE  
You can cure her?

KAREN  
I'll need a little time. And a fresh sample of your blood.

BLADE  
You'll have it.

Karen stares at him over the line. Her dark brown hair is loose against her lab coat and one hand rises to it unconsciously as she remembers the horrors she witnessed at Blade's side.

KAREN  
Is the serum still working?

BLADE  
Focus on the cure.

He reaches for the off switch as she lifts one arm as though she could stop him through the connection. They both pause, caught for a moment in some shared wish to maintain their link.

KAREN  
Blade…

BLADE  
What?

KAREN  
Be careful.

He turns off the screen and sits there in silence for a while. Behind and below him is the black 1968 Dodge Charger that he has driven for years. The hood is open as Whistler is in the middle of installing new modifications. Weapons and security systems are all around them, painstakingly built up in the week after they came to New York.

This is his life, Whistler's life, and he's just done something that goes against everything they've ever worked for. He's created a vampire on purpose.

Against this backdrop, a woman's scream rings out, a howling shriek of pain.

Blade's face tightens and he grabs a sterile syringe and needle off of the countertop. Without looking down he stabs it into the thick vein of his forearm. Blood wells and then is drawn into the barrel as doubts cross and recross his face.

EXT.NEW YORK - EVENING

A group of vampires is lurking in the shadows of a seedier district. Like wolves, they are hunting prey, singling a human out from the herd and pulling them back into the darkness.

All are young. All are the half-breed products of a pure-bloods bite, not a single true-born vampire among them.

They are hunting humans and Blade is hunting them.

They've caught one as he approaches. An older man who whimpers as he is backed into a dank corner, begging for mercy and offering his wallet as though that would sate them.

BLADE  
Time for some pain, motherfuckers.

VAMPIRE 1  
Take a hike, asshole.

VAMPIRE 2  
Wait, I'm hungry and this one looks meatier.

Giggles from the group as they turn towards their new prey. A flanking movement as they try to surround him, Blade is unconcerned through it all, his shades hiding anything that might be going on in his eyes.

Seven vampires. One daywalker. It's not really a fair fight.

VAMPIRE 3  
Take him down.

The group lunges, hissing and snarling. Blade skewers the first and drives the startled vamp up onto his closest comrade. Locked together with silver they scream as they ash. The other five hesitate, and one realizes whose found them.

VAMPIRE 1  
Oh fuck! BLADE!

BLADE  
You just won the fucking lottery.

He punches Vamp 1 in the face and knocks him backwards against a wall. The other four share a glance and renew their attack, secure in their newfound strength. His katana shines with fire as he beheads two and slices the hand off a third. Tiny embers falling all around him in a strange shower of orange, red and the finally black dust.

VAMPIRE 2  
Let's get out of here!

He runs for it.

BLADE  
Leaving so soon?

From his belt he grabs a thin silver stake. With a single flip he sends it into the fleeing vamp's back. Ash crunches and scatters across the street only inches from the end of the alleyway. Blade nonchalantly stakes the handless vampire who is still screaming and turns for the last one, the only one who recognized him.

BLADE (cont.)  
Are you ready to die?

Vamp 1 is trying to get to his feet, a little bravado left inside of him.

VAMPIRE 1  
You can kill me, but more are coming.

BLADE  
Yeah, yeah. Funny how that works. More come, and more die.  
I've played this game before.

VAMPIRE 1  
No, man. Something bigger. Something that will take you out.

The vamp tries to go for a knife on his belt. His hands slow inches away and he looks in surprise at the silver stake that has gone through his stomach.

VAMPIRE 1 (cont.)  
Too bad I won't be around to see it happen.

BLADE  
Hasn't happened yet.

VAMPIRE 1  
(Cackling.)  
It will. Go to LA and you'll see. There's a new plan.  
Go…to….LA…

The ash starts slowly and then like wildfire races across the vampire's body. Blade retrieves the stake, wipes it on his pant leg and reinserts it into the holster. He goes and gets the other one and reholsters that.

The vampire's last words have hit something inside of him. There was truth in them. His entire purpose is stopping the vampires. If they think they have something that can stop him, it's his job to go and show them otherwise. Deacon Frost couldn't kill him, the Blood God couldn't kill him, the Blood Pack couldn't kill him, and Jared Nomack hadn't even come that close. Whatever they were cooking up would be just as easy to stop.

A new thought stops him. There's no cure yet for the woman.

Shaking his head he gets into his car. She'd known the wound was fatal and she'd known the risks of hunting vampires. His hand falls to the katana and imagines it ashing her to dust inside the prison room. The vision disturbs him.

There has to be a way to wait longer for Karen's help.

INT.THE LAIR - ALMOST DAWN

Blade pulls into the lair. It is quiet. Too quiet. He unsheathes the katana as he walks up the old steel steps. His boots don't make any noise as he creeps upward.

He listens. There is no sign of Whistler, no human heartbeat that he can detect, and there's no sign of vampires either.

He turns towards the prison and the strange sensation he feels from inside of it. The door is unlocked. Slowly he pushes it open.

The room is empty.

WHISTLER  
She's gone.

He spins, Whistler is bandaging a wound on his arm, the white cloth wrapped tightly around a long wound. There are bloodstains across the old flannel he's wearing and a smudge of it in his long grey hair.

BLADE  
What happened?

WHISTLER  
She'd been the same way all night. Laying there so quiet I thought  
she was dead. Went in to check on her about an hour ago. Anyway,  
she got the jump on me. I stabbed her but she grabbed the knife and  
got me in the arm.

BLADE  
Did you follow her?

WHISTLER  
As far as I could. What are you going to go?

Blade's face tightens. The choice has been made for him.

BLADE  
I'll put her down. You were right, old man. It should have been  
done that night.

WHISTLER  
And you shouldn't always listen to me. A little compassion  
makes me remember that you're half-human. I screwed this  
one up, not you.

BLADE  
She won't make it far with dawn so close.

MEG  
Closer than you think.

Both men whirl. Meg is standing shakily next to Blade's car. She looks awful. The blood of two nights earlier has gone black and flaky, smearing her skin with its brown remnants. Her eyes are no longer brown but the same amber shade as Blade's and this gives him a start, as though he truly is looking into a part of himself.

MEG (cont.)  
I'm sorry, Whistler. I'm having some problems _controlling_  
myself.

BLADE  
Why did you come back?

MEG  
To try and kill you. Or make you kill me…  
Whatever comes first.

A strange stand-off then. The three stare at each other in mixed disbelief and warring emotions. But truly, it is between Blade and Meg, as they are bound by something stronger than either of them understand.

BLADE  
It was the only way.

MEG  
You had no right. I asked you to leave me be.  
To let me die.

BLADE  
I couldn't. There is a cure. A way to save you.

MEG  
But it didn't work!

Her voice rises in anger.

WHISTLER  
We're working on it.

MEG  
And I'm a fucking vampire! You had _no fucking right_!

BLADE  
You're not under thrall of the thirst.

MEG  
I can feel it inside me.  
(Her hand thumps against her skin.)  
I can feel it.

BLADE  
But you can control it.

Meg is about to respond when a sudden flicker of light crosses the barrier of the window. It lances across her skin and she _screams._ Her skin is burning. She spins but the light reflects off the Charger's mirror. She is really screaming now.

Whistler hasn't moved. To him, there is no other solution to this.

But not for Blade, he vaults the stairs and lands next to Meg. She thinks he's come to end it and doesn't fight him, a strange sense of peace in her eyes as she waits for the killing blow.

He spins out of his long duster and wraps it around her in a single smooth move, pulling her out of the sunlight.

He grunts as Meg drives one of his own silver stakes into his chest. She fights with him as he pulls it out and throws it to the ground. Her skin is burned and blackened from the bout with the sun, obviously she has not gained his ability to daywalk, but the fight hasn't gone out of her either.

MEG  
Do it! Kill me!

Blade punches her so hard she flies backwards, almost back into the sunlight. He grimaces at the injury and walks so that he is standing over her. Whistler limps to his side as they look down at the unconscious woman.

WHISTLER  
It would be a kindness.

BLADE  
Woman's got no bloody patience.

He bends and lifts her over one shoulder.

WHISTLER  
You're not thinking about keeping her? Blade?  
We can't keep getting involved with strays.

Blade turns and grins Whistler a toothy grin.

BLADE  
She's better than a puppy.

He starts climbing back toward the top of the lair, Meg hanging loosely over his shoulders. Whistler watches him walk, a little angry, but more perturbed than anything.

WHISTLER  
Puppies? He better, sure as hell, not bring home any puppies.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to everybody who has read and reviewed so far. I really appreciate it. :)

Sorry about the delays, will try to have the next chapter up quicker.

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INT.THE LAIR - NIGHT

Night has just fallen. The light entering the prison has that dusky thickness when it is difficult for human eyes to see and focus. The kind of light that hides things, but nothing is hidden from the two sitting there. Blade has always had this sharp night vision and Meg is really experiencing it for the first time as her turning is almost finished.

She is trembling on the floor, shaking with a need that she won't allow herself to feel but can't stop from overwhelming her. The burns are still fresh and oozing, she can't heal when she won't feed.

Blade is squatting next to her in a black t-shirt and pants. His tattoos crawling up from underneath the clothing.

BLADE  
It's blood but freely given.

MEG  
I don't want it.

BLADE  
Don't make me force you.  
(There is the tiniest bit of tenderness in his voice.)  
Without blood you won't heal.

Whistler's voice echoes in from the outside of the room.

WHISTLER (O.S.)  
We've got company! Patrol heading through! Power's going out!  
Now.

The faint lights of the lair switch off. Now the dusk has given way to twilight. Immediately Blade and Meg's eyes light up with a eerie shine.

BLADE  
We can save you, but not if you die before Karen makes  
the cure. Drink.

He holds out the bag again. This time Meg reaches for it slowly. Her eyes turn up to his and they both recoil from the confrontation. The truth about what they are is still too raw for both of them.

MEG  
(Drinks and then pauses.)  
I never told you why. Why I hunt them.

BLADE  
You don't owe me.

MEG  
Have you ever been in love?

He doesn't answer.

MEG(cont.)  
I was once. Until he told me the truth about what he was.  
He offered to save me…(Her voice grows quiet.)  
…give me eternal life with him. There was just one  
little catch.

BLADE  
You said no.

MEG  
Just before I staked him and just after he'd shown  
me how he fed.

The bag turns round and round in her hands as she debates the hypocrisy of it all.

BLADE  
So you didn't love him.

MEG  
Even more frightening…I did.

A flashlight's timid light pierces the gloom, from outside. The patrol that Whistler spoke of. They both watch it pass across the ceiling and then fade away.

MEG (cont.)  
You're telling me the truth? About a cure?

BLADE  
You'd be ash otherwise.

MEG  
But why did you do it? Why save me? You fight this thirst  
everyday. Why risk yourself for me? Blade? (Silence.)  
Why would chance yourself for a complete stranger?

BLADE  
It wasn't vampires that killed you. I did.

She doesn't even flinch.

MEG  
There aren't any guarantees in this kind of work.  
You didn't owe me anything. You still don't.

BLADE  
Whistler says its my human side showing through. Drink.

Meg drinks deeply and empties the bag. He has another one ready. Her face is starting to heal, new skin crawling over the old.

MEG  
And if she can't find a cure…

BLADE  
Don't worry. You'll be ash.  
(A beat.)  
Until then, I'll let you out if you promise to play nicely.  
And you only feed on what I give you.

Meg smiles faintly and nods.

MEG  
You'd trust me.

BLADE  
Hell, no. But I'll use you. Let you keep doing what  
you've been doing. Fighting them.

MEG  
Is that how it works?

BLADE  
Until the day you die.

INT.THE LAIR - NIGHT

The lights have come back on. Whistler is angry, mostly because Blade and Meg are standing in front of him.

WHISTLER  
We can't afford the risk.

BLADE  
It's my risk, old man.

WHISTLER  
And you won't live too long if you keep trusting  
random fuckers like this.

Meg bristles angrily.

MEG  
I still believe the same things I did two days ago.  
I hope to god you can cure me, if not, you both  
know what I want. _Ash…_

WHISTLER  
You…

MEG  
(Interrupts.)  
I'm not finished. Until then, I can fight them. I  
want to fight them. I may not have your kill  
count, but I've taken a fair number of them to  
their graves.

BLADE  
Feisty, isn't she?

Whistler scowls angrily.

WHISTLER  
We can't trust her.

BLADE  
And they won't be expecting her.

WHISTLER  
A plant?

BLADE  
She'll be able to move among them.

WHISTLER  
After what happened last time?

Whistler shoves a rifle across the table angrily. Lightning fast, almost as fast as Blade, Meg reaches out and stops it. He glares at her then turns and clomps away from them, his disapproval marred slightly by the heavy limp in his leg.

Meg turns to Blade, she never meant to come between them.

MEG  
Are you going to tell him?

BLADE  
He doesn't need to know.

She turns her eyes to his: amber reflecting amber.

MEG  
He should know.

BLADE  
He'll get over it. Let's go hunting.  
(He pauses and looks at her torn and bloody clothes.)  
You'll need to change first.

EXT.OUTSIDE WHISTLER'S VAN - NIGHT

Blade is dressed in all black. Tactical vest and pants, lightweight black shirt, katana on his back, and various assorted other fun toys to kill vampires with. His omnipresent sunglasses are already in place.

Meg is also in black but less so. She is wearing black pants tucked into knee-high boots with a grey silk shirt under a black corset. Fashionable enough to fit in with the haute coutre of vampire dress. Although it doesn't look it, her clothes are all woven cloth, not as functional as Blade's but a pretty good. She's hunted in them before.

She also looks unarmed except for the tiny glint of silver in one boot.

WHISTLER  
Are you even armed?

MEG  
Doesn't do me much good if they can see it.

He reaches into the van and pulls out a small earpiece and button like transponder that he clips into the top of her shirt.

WHISTLER  
You speak normally and we'll hear every word. You'll also  
be able to hear us. I've boosted the exterior noise dampening  
so ambient noise should filter out.

MEG  
So, number of exits and suck-heads.

BLADE  
For the first run. Yes.

WHISTLER  
No silly heroics.

MEG  
Yeah, well you remember to watch the UV in there.

BLADE  
I thought you didn't care.

Meg turns to him, adjusting the earpiece in her ear. She has clipped her hair back into a long braided tail so that it won't get in the way.

MEG  
Just hopeful for a cure.  
(She grimaces at him lightly.)  
And because I'd rather drink a beer than that  
swill you keep giving me.

WHISTLER  
Hmmph.

MEG  
(Snaps.)  
Lighten up, old man.

Blade almost chuckles, but not really. Whistler doesn't take it so well.

WHISTLER  
This isn't a game, dammit.

Her smile fades.

WHISTLER (cont.)  
We're doing serious things here. Things I've spent my whole  
life doing. It's not a _fucking joke._

She doesn't back down, not an inch. And maybe it's at the instant that Whistler starts to realize how much like Blade she is becoming and it frightens him a little bit. She gets right up in his face, so close he can see the sharp edges of her fangs beneath her lips.

MEG  
No, it's not a fucking joke. But it's better than the alternative.

WHISTLER  
The alternative?

MEG  
Forgetting that I'm human.

INT.VAMPIRE CLUB - NIGHT

Blade is alone in the center of the club. He walks slowly between the dancers as no one has recognized him yet. The club is pumping to the hardcore techno that vampires seem to prefer, he never finds them at classical concerts anyway.

He reaches the center and looks up at the huge disco ball suspended above the floor.

BLADE  
Meg?

MEG (O.S. filter)  
Yeah, Blade.

BLADE  
You might want to find cover.

Her voice is a dim "Fuck!" as he removes the UV light from his harness and points it upward. The rays reflect off the ball and turn the club into a charnal house of burning vamps and ash.

The club is chaos with vampires running and screaming in every direction. The light is doing more damage than he could ever do alone when a vampire finally gets the right idea and shoots the disco ball off the ceiling. Immediately the club descends back into the half darkness of strobe lights.

MEG (O.S. filter)  
You're a real fucking bastard.

BLADE  
(Grins darkly.)  
Time to come out and play.

Vampires, some half-burned and covered in weeping sores, attack. Blade spins among them, his fighting a liquid mix of brutality and beauty. He is so fast and they are so plentiful that ash and fire burst around him like organic fireworks.

Although Meg and Whistler are also fighting, Blade is always the one to watch. He is the ultimate vampire killer. Every movement efficient and ruthless.

It doesn't take as long as they thought to clear the club. The UV demoralized or damaged most of the vampires inside.

Ten minutes later, Meg plants her boot on top of the last living vamp as Blade readies himself to make a final blow.

VAMPIRE  
Wait!

BLADE  
Isn't that what they all say?

VAMPIRE  
You asshole. When He comes back it won't be so  
fucking funny.

BLADE  
Who?

VAMPIRE  
I think I'll just let you find out.

Meg leans into her foot, putting her weight onto the vamp's ribs which crack under the stress.

MEG  
What are you talking about?

VAMPIRE  
Nothing. I don't know anything.

Blade adds his weight to Meg's.

BLADE  
That's not what you said a moment ago.

VAMPIRE  
Ah, bull shit! Fuck me!

Meg looks at Blade and shrugs as she starts to lean further onto the vamp.

VAMPIRE (cont.)  
(To Meg.)  
You're one of us. How could you?

She snarls and plants downward. The vamp screams.

MEG  
I'm not even close.

She is ready to stomp again when the vampire thrusts himself up as hard as he can. Blade's katana, already so close, pierces his heart and ashes him.

VAMPIRE  
Go west, fuckwad. You'll see when He  
fucking kills you. Fuckwad!

As he collapses into nothingness Blade and Meg stand silently and watch the remains disappear.

BLADE  
Was that supposed to be funny?

MEG  
I don't know. West.

BLADE  
It's the second time I've heard it.

MEG  
Then maybe you should listen.

He nods solemnly.

BLADE  
After the cure arrives. They're not going anywhere.

He sweeps away from Meg who smiles sadly but in gracious relief.

INT. THE LAIR - NIGHT

Two weeks later.

Blade comes in from the street, driving the Charger. He parks and sees Whistler waiting for him. The old man looks happier than he's been in days.

As Blade approaches him he sees why. A small Styrofoam packing box is on the workbench. A set of two vials inside.

WHISTLER  
Karen came through.  
(He hands it to Blade.)  
Do you want some help with it?

BLADE  
I'll do it.

The vial rolls between his fingers as he examines it. The fluid inside is clear, so simple and clear and utterly innocuous.

WHISTLER  
Blade. I understand what you're going through.  
What you see when you look at her. (A pause.)  
A way to continue your line. I know this is a hard  
life – no room for anything – no room for a family.  
(Blade gives him a funny look.) I know that Nyssa  
affected you more than you want to admit.

BLADE  
You're about twenty years too late for this talk.

WHISTLER  
I saw her eyes. (Blade pauses.) She's becoming  
like you. Hell, she's even getting your blasted  
sense of humor. That doesn't change things.  
She's still a vampire.

BLADE  
I know exactly what she is.

WHISTLER  
I just want to be certain that you're going to use that cure.  
And I wouldn't have questioned your judgment before…

BLADE  
Walk very carefully, old man.

WHISTLER  
We've been together too long to speak anything  
but plainly. Right now, she is the enemy.

BLADE  
(Interrupts.)  
Stop.

There is tense anger between them. A new anger that wasn't there before.

WHISTLER  
Maybe you'd better remind yourself of the  
differences between friends and enemies.

Blade bristles as he slides the vaccine into his pocket. His sunglasses are still in place and there is no real evidence of his feelings except the slight warning note in his voice.

BLADE  
It's funny how those lines start to blur.

He starts up the stairs towards Meg's room, or prison, that she uses when he's not around.

WHISTER  
Can you do it?

Blade keeps walking, perhaps we notice that his hands are unusually tense on the handrail.

BLADE  
You worry about the west coast.  
I'll worry about her.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4.

INT. THE LAIR - CONTINUOUS

Meg is standing at the far side of the room. There are no lights, just utter and complete darkness until Blade opens the door and light from the hallway spills in. She doesn't turn to face him. The change has continued to take place, her skin paling from the virus, her hair darkening in turn. There is something frightening about her posture, as though she's been fighting with a demon inside herself.

She's wearing a scarlet top over black pants. So vivid it shows in the gloom, especially to his eyes.

MEG  
It's growing.

BLADE  
The thirst.

It's not a question. He knows exactly what she means.

MEG  
Yes….

BLADE  
We need to talk.

She turns finally and sees the vial in his hands. Recognition and then relief sweep across her face. Liquid salvation.

MEG  
It's here. Thank…

BLADE  
Not yet.

She walks towards him, the urgency on her face is painful to behold.

MEG  
I don't understand. This is what we've been waiting for.  
Please. This or ash. Not life as this.

BLADE  
What if you could do more good for us as a vampire?

MEG  
(Disbelief.)  
Why? Godammit, Blade. Why?

BLADE  
You can go places we can't. Learn things. Things  
that Whistler and I can't.

MEG  
You're talking about leaving me like this?

He nods solemnly.

BLADE  
You use the tools you're given.

MEG  
You're asking a lot. You're asking a hell of a lot!

She lunges at him, nails like daggers. Blade sidesteps the movement, she follows, attacking. Even vampire fast, he is still faster. They clash and she falls back. Everything he does is non-lethal, it is her desperation that drives her but she can't make him kill her.

Finally he grabs her and pins her against one wall. Her chest heaves with anger but there is nothing she can do. He glares at her until her eyes drop in submission.

BLADE  
Enough.

MEG  
Damn you.

BLADE  
You know, you're as bad as Whistler.

His grip loosens and she struggles free, her chest heaving with exertion.

MEG  
And what does Whistler think about this? I can't see  
him going along with this plan.

BLADE  
I haven't told him.

She turns away slightly, one hand reaching up to touch the edges of her fangs.

MEG  
I don't want to be a vampire. I never did.  
And now…with the thirst growing.

BLADE  
You can control it.

MEG  
…I don't think I can.

Her voice is chilling, she is starting to lose hope.

BLADE  
You can.

She changes tracks, a last desparate gamble to alter what she already knows he wants her to do.

MEG  
He won't forgive you.

BLADE  
That's my problem. This isn't going to be easy for either  
of us. But this will help you. (He passes something to her.  
It's small and silver but she palms it quickly into her pants  
pocket.) Are you ready?

MEG  
Do I have a choice?

He gives her a wry look – definitely a no.

MEG (cont.)  
Let's get this over then.

BLADE  
You wanted to hunt them.

MEG  
I never thought it would get so personal.

BLADE  
Things have that habit.  
(He glances down as if seeing her for the first time.)  
You look good in red.

MEG  
So would you. (She turns away from him.)  
It's going to take me a long time to forgive you.

Blade nods.

BLADE  
As long as you do what you're supposed to.

INT.THE LAIR - NIGHT

Whistler jerks as a scream lances through the air. Meg's voice is harsh and shrill as it arches up and then cuts off completely. He waits but Blade does not open the door for several minutes. When it finally swings open Blade is standing there grimly.

Neither man says anything at first as Blade pulls the door shut behind him. He descends and lays the empty vial on the table in front of Whistler. A smear of blood is along the top of it but the vial is empty.

WHISTLER  
Blade…. I'm sorry.

BLADE  
It's done.

Whistler lays down the gun he was cleaning.

WHISTLER  
She was right. You don't go into this line of work without  
knowing the risks. She wanted it to end the way it did.

BLADE  
(Coldly.) Are you justifying this to me? Or to yourself?

WHISTLER  
You…

BLADE  
Listen, _old man._ You were one of them for far longer  
than Meg. How do I know I can trust you?

This tension isn't really that new. But it has been growing ever since Blade pulled Whistler out of the blood tank and brought him back to the land of the living.

WHISTLER  
Because I'm the one who saved you! Who got you the  
serum! Of all the ungrateful…

BLADE  
That was a long time ago. And both you and I were  
different men.

WHISTLER  
That's right. (More softly.) I can't help the fact that  
I'm getting older. Faster every year it seems. But I  
still know what I'm talking about. You brought me  
back because the cure took, without it, she would have  
given in to the thirst. We might have delayed it, but  
the thirst is inevitable. She was a vampire.

Blade lunges toward him faster than the eye can follow. When he opens his mouth _his_ canines flash in the light.

BLADE  
Before you forget. So am I.

He spins and grabs his sunglasses and sword off of the bench where he'd left them.

WHISTLER  
Where are you going?

BLADE  
Out.

He pauses for a moment next to the Charger but then gets in and roars away without so much as a backward glance. Whistler remains motionless at the top of the stairs.

For once, the older man seems to be at a loss.

WHISTLER  
(To himself.) Maybe he's right. Maybe I am getting too old.  
But he's still like one of my own. And just like them – he'll  
never forgive me for forcing his hand with Meg. But he needs  
someone he can trust at his side. Someone human.

He shakes his head slowly.

WHISTLER (cont.)  
Someone to be at his side when I'm gone.

He limps slowly out of the bay, not noticing the soft noise inside the room as a window opens and then shuts.

EXT.OUTSIDE THE LAIR - NIGHT

Blade's Charger is parked barely a half mile from the lair. He is sitting inside it with a stoic expression on his face when the side door opens and Meg gets inside. There is a smear of blood across her neck along with a rapidly healing cut. She frowns slightly at him.

MEG  
That didn't go well.

BLADE  
You shouldn't listen at doors. I told you to leave.

MEG  
Sue me. (She glances over at him again.) I'm sorry  
you had to deceive Whistler.

Blade doesn't answer except to start the car. They pull away from the warehouse district and get onto the highway. They ride in silence for a long time before he speaks.

BLADE  
The ring is from Overlord Damaskeinos. You should  
be able to masquerade as one of his house with it. There  
is enough confusion in Europe that no one will argue  
with its legitimacy.

MEG  
I'm still angry at you.

BLADE  
Be angry. Use it.

She almost reaches out for him and stops herself.

MEG  
How will I contact you?

BLADE  
You don't. You follow them. Learn what's going on.  
Then we'll hunt them.

MEG  
And Whistler?

BLADE  
He'll get over it.

MEG  
Not if you lose his friendship.

BLADE  
We all do what we have to do.

But as they speed down the darkened highway his words seem to be hollow to both of them. Even as identical hazel eyes track the lights outside and shared blood beats through both of their veins, he realizes that he's given her more than life, she has a bond to him that will never go away.

MEG  
(Quietly.) He loves you. Even I can see that.  
And the older he gets…the less he can protect you.  
Don't hate him for fearing that.

Blade doesn't answer. He can't. Finally…

BLADE  
You remember the plan?

She nods, long dark hair falling over her hands as she turns the ring between her fingers. A vampire ring for a vampire. Even if she is a reluctant one. Blade is right and Meg knows it. If something dangerous is coming, they'll need every advantage they can get. Even if Whistler never forgives them for it.

Neither of them say anything else as they roar off - into the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry about the delays. Started a new job and a new semester of school.

I guess I misunderstood about the script format so if you guys can bear with me, this story will continue in the same way – cause it's already written and only has two more chapters, and I'll switch formats after this piece.

Thanks again. :)

* * *

INT. LOS ANGELES WAREHOUSE - NIGHT

Whistler has already backed the huge semi-truck into their new lair. The huge empty building is nestled up against the river, perfect for water access. Blade has just arrived after the mistake of killing the human. He's not too sure yet how it happened. Used to be, he could smell the difference, but now things are a lot more confusing.

Whistler hands him the small piece of metal. It looks a little hi-tech, more hi-tech than even Whistler usually gets into.

BLADE  
What's this?

WHISTLER  
New delivery system for your serum. It's an effervescent inhaler.  
Just bite down on the mouth guard. Delivery's automatic. Some  
friends of mine made it.

BLADE  
Hm? Friends?

Whistler nods slightly.

WHISTLER  
Yeah, you remember those?

Blade doesn't exactly answer. He knows what friends are. He's had at least two that Whistler disapproved of and he's not so sure why he cares anymore.

EXT.DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - NIGHT

The building is huge and exactly the opposite of Blade's digs. It's an enormous skyscraper made of steel and glass. From the outside it almost doesn't look any different from a bank or any other financial institution, but as a limousine pulls up outside, the faint shimmer of a vampire glyph is evident where it's etched in marble against the building's front facade.

The door opens and Meg gets out, but not the same woman that left Blade ten days ago. She is wearing stiletto boots and a long leather skirt with thigh-high slits. Above that is a leather corset and an off-the-shoulder wine colored blouse. Her hair is piled in a loose bun but it is her eyes that are the most striking part of the ensemble. Unlike her maker, she does not hide their vivid amber color behind sunglasses.

One of the front doors opens and a dapper male vampire, almost a dandy descends from the building. Dusty blond hair and light blue eyes. Asher Talos has arrived himself to greet the woman who is supposed to be the new American emissary of an ancient European lineage.

ASHER  
Madam.

MEG  
Asher Talos.  
(She quirks her lips slightly.)  
Interesting.

He escorts her inside the building. Vampire familiars with sub-machine guns guarding the entry but deferring to his presence.

ASHER  
We hadn't heard anything from your lineage in  
several months.

MEG  
(Calculated.)  
Blade's attack caused us grievous hurt.  
The Overlord has been most…cautious in revealing  
anything about our condition.

ASHER  
Even with our news?

She hesitates. She hasn't been able to find out much of the specifics that the Talos siblings have been involved in. She knows they are expanding their power base among the humans, but other than that, no mention of what could possibly threaten Blade. These lies she walks along are such tenuous things.

MEG  
He wants proof before committing himself.

ASHER  
A valid concern.

MEG  
So, Jason was _most_ adamant that I meet you  
before I could tour your facilities.

ASHER  
A security precaution.  
(He gestures her through another door.)  
Proof that you are what you say you are.

Meg balks for a moment. The room in front of her is a torture chamber and for a brief second she thinks this is where she's being led. Asher catches her hesitation but points to clarify things. There is a lab just beyond this chamber where a doctor is waiting.

ASHER (cont.)  
A blood sample will suffice.

Meg submits to the tiny prick of blood which quickly confirms that she is truly a vampire. She acts put out and Asher is at his best, fawning over the inconvenience of the test. Neither of them notice the two figures watching them through a one-way mirror.

Danica is made up in her usual bizarre fashion with what appears to be a domestic house-cat draped in her hair like a net.

But next to her is a man more frightening by his presence than his appearance. Drake is watching as Asher looks briefly at the mirror and escorts Meg from the room.

DRAKE  
She doesn't smell like a pureblood.

DANICA  
They might use a half-blood for protection.  
Rumor was that they lost several of his  
heirs. He'd want to keep those left close to  
home. Use someone more expendable.

DRAKE  
No. (He leans forward slightly, as if that will increase  
what he sensed.) Not a half-blood either.  
Something different.

DANICA  
A threat?

Drake ponders this for a moment. He had no real interest in these people, foolish children running around to prove their dominance. Nothing remotely worth his time. But this woman smells like something different, not the weak scent of the vampires around him, but something new and unique that he can't quite identify.

DRAKE  
Let her go to the factories. I will deal with her  
when she returns.

DANICA  
It would be easier to kill her now.

DRAKE  
No. Not yet.

Danica grimaces, put out by his dismissive behavior. Then her eyes narrow as Asher lets the door swing shut behind him and the woman. To her the bitch smells like competition and she isn't about to put up with that.

But Drake walks away from her too and there really isn't anything she can do to stop it.

EXT.THE TALOS BUILDING - NIGHT

Asher is quite a bit closer to Meg than when he started. She is flirting shyly and he's falling for it easily. This is what she's good at, the way she hunts, and it works no matter what she has become. Flatter 'em, draw 'em in, and then stake them through the heart.

She is focused intently on him and he's responding just the way he's supposed to. Meg realizes that her hand is itching to pull a weapon on him but she's completely unarmed, Blade's idea, not hers. Killing him will have to wait.

ASHER  
Six hours up the coast and you'll see our main processing  
facility and factories. Pretty soon we'll have their capabilities  
all along this coast.

MEG  
I look forward to seeing them.

DRAKE  
I didn't get your name.

Meg and Asher spin. Drake's deep voice has startled both of them.

But nothing startles Meg more than the sudden rush of blood that hits her. She can't reconcile the sudden swift attraction to the man in front of her with the absolute certainty of what he is.

DRAKE (cont.)  
Your name?

She is speechless. Completely caught off guard. No vampire has ever made her feel this way, no man either. Asher – off to her side – realizes quite quickly that he's lost his standing in the ranks and something like anger flashes quickly over his face before it disappears.

ASHER  
Her name is Margaret.

DRAKE  
But you don't go by that.

It's not quite a question but Meg shakes her head in response, her eyes locked on him.

MEG  
No.

He steps down the final stair so that they are so close as to be touching. He is wearing a white linen shirt that contrasts starkly with the dark colors of her clothing. This close, she can see the strange scar on his chest and she faint almost reptilian smell that he gives off. But instead of being distasteful it is addictive, as though there are pheremones in it that overpower anything else.

DRAKE  
You're not a pure-blood. But you're not a  
half-blood either.

Meg fights for control. She can't give up her cover, no matter how hard it is to concentrate. Blade prepared her for this eventuality but now that she needs it, she can barely remember what to say.

MEG  
We're using gene modification….  
Trying to restabilize the genome.

DRAKE  
Is that so?

MEG  
(A whisper.)  
Yes.

Asher finally gets some balls and intercedes between the two of them.

ASHER  
It's almost daylight. You'll need to get on  
the road.

MEG  
Of course.

She steps back from Drake even as her pulse races up into her throat.

MEG (cont.)  
Your pardon, but I should be going.

DRAKE  
Of course.

He relinquishes control of her gaze as Asher opens the limousine door and Meg gets in. Once she's away from Drake her pulse drops but then rises as she realizes that she has no idea of who – or what – she's just met.

As the vehicle pulls away from the Talos building she pulls out a tiny cell-phone. Her fingers trip over the number and she has to dial again before Blade's voice comes through the receiver.

BLADE (phone filter)  
Yes.

MEG  
I'm headed north.

BLADE (phone filter)  
Good.

MEG  
There is something else.

BLADE (phone filter)  
Focus on what you're supposed to focus on.

MEG  
But…

BLADE  
Everything is under control.  
Understood?

MEG  
Yes, of course.  
(Softer.)  
I know the plan.

The phone goes dead in her hand and she leans back against the seat with the phone clenched tightly against her chest.

She can't get him out of her mind. Along with the sudden new fear that Blade is wrong, that nothing is under control.

EXT.SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT HANGAR - EARLY NIGHT

The limousine is parked at a funny angle outside of the airport hangar. The vampire glyphs that mark the building are much more obvious here. There are muted sounds of shouting from inside the building and gunfire. A window bursts out, even as the vampire crashing through it turns to ash.

Then silence.

A moment later, Meg walks through the doors. No longer the sleek Damaskeinos emissary, now she's back to her normal angry self. Black pants with a sleek grey top and knee high boots that are holding her asp in reserve. That's not what caused all the fighting inside, she's also carrying a stolen machine gun that she took from one of the vampire guards shortly after she saw what they meant by a processing facility.

It's a body farm. And she steps outside even as the first set of explosions start to go off inside. Nothing pretty or easy. She's sprayed jet fuel across the floor and it goes up brutally. Burst after burst of fire.

She dives behind the limousine for cover as her cell starts ringing.

MEG  
Yeah?

She ducks as another set of implosions rock the hangar.

MEG (cont.)  
Blade? What? I don't understand.

Shock runs across her face as he tells her.

MEG (cont.)  
I'm on my way.


	6. Chapter 6

INT. THE NIGHTSTALKER BOAT - NIGHT

Meg walks down the docks that the Nightstalker's boat is tied to. Even out here she can smell the blood of a massacre. She glances up and sees Blade on an upper deck. He sees her as well and comes down as she approaches.

BLADE  
What took you so long?

MEG  
A little thing called sunlight. (She nears him and her eyes darken.)  
Why didn't you call me sooner?

BLADE  
What good would you have done?

Meg slaps him as hard as she can. His head rocks slightly and it surprises him. He moves to stop her but Meg doesn't need to hit him again, he understands how she feels now.

MEG  
You learned how to be an asshole from the best.  
Jesus, Blade. I'm sorry. _Maybe_ I couldn't have  
helped you before, but I'm here now. (A beat.)  
What the hell happened?

BLADE  
A vampire.

She gives him a dirty look.

MEG  
There's more than that.

BLADE  
There's always more. (He turns away slightly.) They  
found the original vampire, or so they think. Just another  
fucking suckhead to me.

MEG  
He did this?

BLADE  
And took a little girl and a man.

MEG  
So we go and get them back.

BLADE  
It's not that easy. Drake isn't just your average….

She shrugs, but there is an uneasiness to the motion. The scent of blood is running rampant through her body and the thirst is rising along with it.

BLADE (cont.)  
Meg!

MEG  
I'm in control. (Quiet desperation.) I am  
in control.

BLADE  
There's another problem. (He grabs her hard.)  
Are you listening to me?

She nods.

BLADE (cont.)  
I don't have the cure. Lost it when I lost Whistler.  
(Gruffly.) These kids have created a virus that  
kills vampires. If you go in their with us…  
it might kill us both.

She tries for a little bit of humor.

MEG  
Is that all?

But the words seem to fall flat. Blade pulls her in tighter. He's fought against caring about anyone but it has backfired. With Whistler gone, Meg is all he has left. She's trusted him with her life and he is suddenly afraid that if she should die – there won't be anyone else. Certainly not the asshole King or even Whistler's daughter, Meg is all he has.

BLADE  
I don't want you to die.

MEG  
You only get so many second chances. (Sadly.)  
You're as vulnerable as I am.

BLADE  
No. You protect yourself.

Meg stares up at him and notices for the first time, that he's wearing red. It almost makes her smile, as if their whole world wasn't crashing down.

MEG  
So what's the plan? Kill the vamp and  
rescue the kids?

BLADE  
Essentially.

ABBY  
Blade?

Abby is in the doorway. Her eyes wide with disbelief at Blade and Meg standing there. Her right hand drops to the big revolver she's wearing on one hip.

BLADE  
Whistler's daughter or not. Watch yourself.

ABBY  
This is her. The one my dad told me about.  
He also said that she was dead.

BLADE  
We all keep secrets.

Meg pulls away from him slightly. Her eyes narrowing as she looks at Abby.

MEG  
You're right in what you're thinking.  
I'm one of them. A vampire.

BLADE  
Meg…

MEG  
If your dad told you about me, then he  
also told you how it happened.

Abby nods reluctantly, her hand frozen at her side.

MEG (cont.)  
The cure is gone. And the asshole who promised  
that he'd change me back seems to think we have  
a more important job to do. Rescuing your friends.  
(A beat.) You can ash me, but I might just be the edge  
you need to win this thing. Do you want to risk it?

ABBY  
No.

MEG  
Then let's figure out how to go and get them.

She turns back to Blade.

MEG (cont.)  
Do you know where they are?

ABBY  
We do.

BLADE  
You've been there before. The Talos  
building.

Meg's eyes widen, the amber shocking against the pale of her skin.

MEG  
You said something about a vampire?  
(Whispered.) The original vampire?

ABBY  
What do you know?

MEG  
I've already met him.  
(Her resolve stiffens.) We have to hurry.  
We're running out of darkness.

EXT.A HELO PAD - NIGHT

Calder is talking urgently to a pilot while Abby is loading her bow and an extra bag into the back of the chopper. The bird's rotors are already cycling up.

Blade is standing next to his motorcycle, a small radio next to his ear.

BLADE  
Are you ready?

MEG (radio filter)  
I'm in position.

BLADE  
We're ten minutes out.

MEG (radio filter)  
They won't know what hit them.

BLADE  
(Hesitation…then.)  
Be careful.

A small laugh comes across the radio, it makes him frown.

MEG (radio filter)  
Hey, I've got the easy job.

BLADE  
Don't do anything crazy.

MEG (radio filter)  
Who me? This is just a hobby. Remember?  
(Her voice gets more serious.) I'll see you  
inside.

ABBY  
Blade, we're ready!

He clicks off the radio and sets it on the motorcycle. For good or bad. Things are beginning.

EXT. THE TALOS BUILDING - NIGHT

Meg strides toward the front doors of the building. She can see four vampires inside, security guards and the initial line of defense. The plan is for her to disable their security system on the first floor so that they can't call in any help, human or otherwise. That's the easy part. She's going to have to be more cautious for the second half of the plan and hope that she's quick enough to get everything set up before they release Daystar.

She's wearing black camoflauge pants and a black t-shirt under a long overcoat. Not usually prone to theatrics, it does something even more valuable – hides the silver stakes in holsters around her thighs as well as the electronic pistol she's taken from the Nightstalkers, a canister of aerosolized garlic and silver, and a gas mask to protect herself.

She pushes the front door open as the first vamp rises.

VAMPIRE  
(Confused.)  
Madam Damaskeinos?

MEG  
Oh that. (She shrugs.)  
A little white lie.

She draws the pistol and shoots him at point black range. His ash blows past her out of the door as she calmly targets and shoots the next two guards. The last is jumping toward the alarm button when she kicks him away from the console.

He hisses at her and Meg smiles at him very slowly.

MEG (cont.)  
That's not very nice.

She lunges forward and the silver stake impales his left eye. For a brief moment, reflex pulls the vampire away from her but then he crumbles. His skull remains whole and Meg has to shake it off as she retrieves the stake.

For a moment Meg is alone. She pulls a small disk from one pocket and slides it into the hard drive of the computer. The screen pauses for a moment as it loads the initial file. Meg taps her foot as it works, the disk has a computer virus that will freeze the entire vampire network. It will keep them from calling for human help.

The screen cycles and then starts to disseminate the virus when a sudden chill runs across the back of her neck. Meg freezes in place. It's him.

She can't turn around yet. The virus needs a command to make it fully operational. Without turning, even though every nerve in her body is screaming at her to look, she takes the time to press the three button combination on the keypad.

Drake moves closer.

DRAKE  
It took me a while to figure out what you were.

Meg straightens and turns to face him. Her heart seizes slightly even though she knows exactly what he is. Still, there is something else there. A frightening attraction to him, much the same as the one she fights against the heady aroma of blood.

MEG  
Oh really.

DRAKE  
And then I met Blade. You're his line.  
A vampire born of a Daywalker. (He circles her.)  
Are you impervious to sunlight?

MEG  
No.

DRAKE  
Interesting. (He tightens the circle, getting closer  
and closer.) But you're not like any of the others.  
Not as weak as they are.

Meg shakes her head slightly. It's hard to think with him so close. His scent all around her. The sudden thought strikes her that she might be in mortal danger, but she truly is all alone. Whatever happens will happen.

She keeps her eyes trained entirely on him as she lets one hand drop down towards her asp.

DRAKE (cont.)  
You remind me of how my race used to be.

MEG  
Not for long. (Her fingers brush against the  
tip of the handle.) There's a cure.

He lunges into her. One hand grabs tight around her throat as he slams her into the desk and sends papers flying from the impact. He pins her against it. His weight is squarely above her as his fingers tighten in the soft flesh of her neck.

Meg can't breathe. Can't fight him. Black spots dance in her eyes as he squeezes. She's fighting him, but his strength is immovable.

DRAKE  
Is he here?

Meg struggles, trying to free herself but he clenches down and repeats his question. Finally she is forced to nod. Blade and Abigail should have been right behind her, and Blade was already looking for Drake, it wouldn't give anything away.

DRAKE (cont.)  
Good.

His grip loosens and she gasps for air. But then he reaches down and wraps one hand in her hair. Meg struggles but can't move away. As he draws close again she sees his irises change shape back to the beast that is inside of him.

MEG  
You can kill me. It doesn't matter.  
I'm just the rear guard anyway.

DRAKE  
I won't kill you. You haven't felt the  
thirst yet. Not the true thirst that awakens  
the vampire inside of you.

She's finally grabbed the asp and slashes upwards with it, scoring the outside of his bicep and shoulder. He gives her a satisfied grin as he wrests it away from her.

DRAKE  
I was right. You're a fighter. Just like him.

He examines the asp and plunges it into her shoulder. Meg screams as the silver pierces her flesh. She screams as the thrust drives the metal down into the desk beneath her, pinning her to it. She tries to turn and reach the pistol on her hip but he takes it easily from her and sets it aside.

She's caught, in agony from the silver and absolutely helpless to fight him. He leans back over her a strange expression suddenly crossing his face.

DRAKE (cont.)  
Now you're alive.

He releases her suddenly and starts toward the elevator. Meg tries to lever herself up off the asp but screams with the pain of it. She lays back gasping and then centers her breath.

She shoves herself up and off the desk, shrieking with pain as the heavier handle of the asp rips open her shoulder even further. Vivid red blood splashes out of the wound, flashing slowly into fire and then ash as they fall away from her. Meg collapses to her knees, using her free hand as front pressure as she presses her back against the marble desk to stop the bleeding in the back. Her shoulder around the gaping wound is tinged black from the toxic silver.

She pants with the agony of it all even as her body begins to heal the wound. On its heels is the thirst and the sudden knowledge that she needs to feed.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the small walkie-talkie that is connected, via a small invisible earpiece, to Blade.

MEG  
First floor is secure…. (She barely manages to say.)  
….He's coming.

The walkie-talkie drops from her fingers as the wound begins to bleed again. Her eyes go dark with need and Meg groans with the certainty that she is losing the fight. Drake has accomplished what he set out to do – unleash her thirst.

Meg staggers to her feet and uses all of her weight to dislodge the asp from the desk. The metal gleams dully where her blood ashed and left a faint residue all along the blade and hilt. She slides it into the holster and grabs the pistol that Drake has discarded. Barely upright, she staggers for the elevators. Despite it all, there is still a job to do.

INT. TALOS BUILDING 2nd FLOOR - NIGHT

The elevator doors open and a small cylindrical canister rolls out. The vampires working in the offices look up and then scream as garlic and silver explodes out of it. They lunge out of their seats, the ones closest begin to ash from the inside-out, the rest are panicking as Meg steps out of the elevator, gas mask on, and picks them off.

She's leaning against the wall, only her eyes are sharp behind the mask. Her skin is pale and tinged a horrible grey color.

She's never been so scared in her entire life. The hunger is so close to the surface that its wiping out almost everything else. She's losing her ability to think, to reason clearly. Soon she'll be nothing but a beast, and when that happens, she'll become the very thing that Whistler feared. She either has to give into it now - by choice. Or lose the battle later.

The silver and garlic from the grenade is burning into the weeping tissue of her shoulder. She grunts as a vampire gets close and she has to knock him away before shooting him. Ash blows over the mask and when it clears she sees that there is only one man left. A familiar.

She chambers a regular steel round even as he is begging with her to stop. Halfway to him, she hears the echo of a conversation in her head.

_BLADE  
I don't want you to die.  
You protect yourself._

MEG  
(To herself.)  
I don't want to be a monster.

_BLADE  
Without blood you won't heal._

She'd delirious. Remembering pieces of old conversations, trying to keep from losing her mind, but what she remembers are the words so similar to forgiveness that he's given her. Words that make her believe, just for a moment, that surviving might be worth the price.

FAMILIAR  
Please! Don't do this! Don't kill me.

Meg grabs a hold of him and smells the fear on him. She can't stand and collapses to her knees, pulling him with her. She reaches up and pulls off the mask, wincing at the bitter stench in the air.

MEG  
No, this isn't death.

Like a viper her eyes go vicious and cold, and then she strikes.

INT. TALOS BUILDING TOP FLOOR - NIGHT

Blade and Drake crash into the metal support structures, bowing the steel around them with the force of the blow. So far they are not evenly matched. Drake is stronger and Blade just might be losing.

Drake throws him into the end of the floor and Blade feels the ache beginning that makes it harder and harder to get up and keep fighting.

Abby shoots the arrow and Drake catches it, throwing it to the side. Daystar isn't active until it is mixed with his blood. As he moves in to end everything, a door opens on the opposite end of the hall and Meg races out. She's wearing the mask again, her shoulder healed into a clean expanse of skin. As she sees Drake move in for the killing blow, she starts to run, as though she might be able to stop it.

But Blade strikes upward with the arrow and the vial breaks inside of Drake's skin as Daystar is released. Abby nods in satisfaction and Meg slows and stops as she realizes that the tables are turned. This time Drake has been overcome, not with brute strength, but with a technology that he never expected.

She approaches more slowly as he falls to the floor across from Blade. Her eyes wide and horrified as her skin crawls with the first onslaught of Daystar, yet her safety is of no concern to her. She can't decide if she's more worried about Blade or about the truth that Drake is dying. Suddenly, both matter to her. They've both brought a kind of truth to her in their own way.

Drake isn't looking entirely at Blade as he speaks. He sees her get closer and it causes a faint smile on his face.

DRAKE  
(To Blade…and to Meg.)  
Funny, all this time my people were trying to create new vampire…  
but one already existed. I don't need to survive.  
The future of our race rests with you.  
(A long pause.)  
You fought well. I respect that. Allow me a parting gift.  
But remember this, sooner or later…  
the thirst always wins.

Drake lays back as the virus works its way through him. Blade watches him for a second more and then lays back himself, horribly injured by their confrontation and by the virus that is attacking him as well.

Meg runs to him, pushing through the broken glass door. Her eyes are inside the mask, the amber flashing vividly as she goes to him. One hand drops to his chest and she almost rips off her mask when she realizes that there is nothing to feel.

No pulse.

MEG  
You don't get to die on me.  
Not yet. You don't get to….

The faint thump under her hand brings a sob of relief and then it is a long time before she feels the next one. She smiles faintly. He is alive.

She turns then, towards Drake.

It only takes a moment to reach him and she stares down in surprise. For all that he was a monster, he died a man. He looks human except for the wicked scar on his chest and the black threads of his veins now visible underneath his skin. What words she would have said to him are gone now that he is dead.

Surprising, and unbidden, a new set of tears flash into her eyes. She stares at him for a long moment before getting to her feet. Dawn is coming, already crossing the horizon, and she cannot stay to face it. She looks at the two of them one last time before leaving to look for Abby.

This then, is over.

* * *

EPILOGUE

INT.A ROOM - EARLY EVENING  
Sunlight is streaming in through the windows. Meg is sitting, wearing blue jeans and an old white t-shirt, next to the bed that Blade is sleeping in. He looks somewhat the worse for wear, but is healthy, and visibly breathing this time.

She is looking out at the sky when his eyes open, take in her and then the sunlight glowing across the skin of her face.

BLADE  
You're human.

MEG  
Mostly. (Smiles brightly.)  
How are you feeling?

BLADE  
I've had better days.

He sits up and stretches, his back cracking painfully. Then he reaches out for her, one hand brushing across her arm. Then he hears Hannibal and his good mood vanishes.

BLADE (cont.)  
You haven't gotten rid of him yet?

MEG  
(Humorously.) No. Not yet. I couldn't  
have gotten you out without them. (A beat.) Abby  
says that you and King don't get along too well.

Blade snorts. He scans around the room and settles down a bit when he sees his sword and sunglasses sitting on a small night table across from him.

BLADE  
I've laid around long enough. I should get  
going.

MEG  
To where?

BLADE  
There will always be vampires to kill.  
North maybe, where you found the blood farms.

MEG  
And blew them up.

He ignores that little fact and glances down at the black underwear that he's wearing without pants. This little tidbit makes one eyebrow arch as he finds his black pants and pulls them on.

Once dressed he turns back to Meg.

BLADE  
You should stay with them. (There's no confusion  
as to whom he is referring.) Whistler's daughter  
isn't so bad.

MEG  
Open your eyes, Blade. (Sharply.)  
I'm not an easy fit anymore.

He shrugs but she is on her feet and making him truly look at her. Karen's cure might have erased most of the vampire from her – but not all.

Her eyes are still the identical shade of golden as his and while her overall scent is human, the vampire is still there, just underneath her skin.

BLADE  
What happened?

MEG  
Karen called it permanent genetic alteration.

BLADE  
It didn't happen to Whistler and he was one of  
them for three years. King either.

MEG  
Neither of them were bitten by you.

Blade is silent. There's not really an answer to that. He feels guilty enough for what he put her through.

MEG (cont.)  
Blade. Don't push me away. Not now.  
You don't know half the shit I had to put up  
with because of you.

BLADE  
Are you complaining?

MEG  
No. I'd do it all again. So I guess I'm the fool.

BLADE  
(He is about to reach out for her again. His voice  
is suddenly tender.) Not so foolish…

Hannibal crashes in through the doorway. Tall, lanky, with that inappropriate humor he takes one look at the two of them and realizes he's interrupted something. It takes a second and then he regains his balance.

HANNIBAL  
We've got a problem.

BLADE  
Don't you know how to knock?

HANNIBAL  
This is important.

Blade is about to retort but Meg shakes her head slightly.

MEG  
What is it?

Hannibal glances at Blade again, as though he's expecting to be slapped.

HANNIBAL  
They've stolen Drake's body.

MEG  
(Shock.)  
What?

HANNIBAL  
It's gone. _He's_ gone.

A dull heavy silence surrounds them, cooling the sunlight until it has no more heat than the darkest night. The air chills all of them, except Blade who seems to have expected this.

BLADE  
It's not over.

_THE END…for now_


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to everybody who read No Pulse. :)

I just thought I'd let everybody know that I've begun the sequel in a separate story arc called Blood-borne.  
Chapter 1 is up now and will soon be updated with 2.

Again all reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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